Ten Finalists of Globe Future Makers Program Announced

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Globe Telecom has announced the 10 finalists from the 135 diverse social innovation program creators who submitted entries to the Globe Future Makers Program (GFM) launched on March this year.

The finalists that came from different parts of the country were chosen for displaying unique and innovative views on several social issues that contribute to poverty in the Philippines such as climate change and displacement, peace and security, health and wellness, and education and learning through the use of technology.

“Trimming down the entries to 10 is really an arduous task given the diversity and innovation involved. These are all very noteworthy endeavors and we admire the creativity of these groups and individuals in helping create the change that we envisioned in dealing with social ills,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe SVP for Corporate Communications.

Among the 10, seven initiatives focused on Learning and Education, two touched on Health and Wellbeing, while a lone finalist concentrated on Climate Change and Displacement.

The initiative entitled “Good Code” by developer Carl Myer Flor is about establishing a pop-up coding school that will teach coding or computer programming to school-aged kids. Through coding, Flor said kids can also learn how to solve problems through the use of technology.

“Eskwelanihan” of Lorenz Joe Dela is an online resource-matching and “crowdcaring” platform that hopes to generate support in addressing education-related challenges by linking donors with beneficiaries. On the other hand, iVolunteerPhilippines of developer Jan Bernard Tan is another platform that aims to recruit, engage, and manage volunteers for various non-government organizations (NGOs) in the country.

The Spark Project, an entry by Patrick Dulay, is a Filipino-based crowdfunding website and community seeking to create a “spark” among local entrepreneurs, the so-called “changemakers” and doers. It will showcase the creations and projects of these target individuals to like-minded people who may be willing to pitch in money and lend funding to something compelling and truly worthwhile.

James Centenera’s The Ultimate Learning Accelerator, aptly called “TULA,” is a chain of after-school learning centers that teach learners various concepts on Mathematics while helping them solve problems. The approach of TULA is to help children develop appropriate character traits at an early age in order to succeed in school and beyond.

“Virtualahan” of Ryan Gersava, meanwhile, is designed to train and employ people with medical conditions or disabilities that prevent them from acquiring gainful employment. As employees who can work remotely, persons with disabilities (PWDs), or even the unemployed youth and full-time parents, may be able to find meaningful work through “Virtualahan.”

The last among the entries that focus on learning and education is Liser Robotics of Diogenes Armando Pascua. It employs educational robots to help teach high school kids the beauty and ingenuity related to robot hardware and programming. Pascua hopes that through this affordable robotics platform, he can increase kids’ interest in the areas of science and engineering.

The two health and well-being entries are Bloodlife PH of Fleire Castro, and Milktrack of Oscar Ryan Santillan. Bloodlife PH is an online platform that links Filipinos who may be in need of blood with potential blood donors, while Milktrack is a site that seeks to provide premature or sick babies with breastmilk coming from trusted sources and delivering these right at their doorstep.

Finally, the lone Climate Change and Displacement entry is Wooper SMS Kiosk, also developed by Oscar Ryan Santillan of Milktrack. This interactive kiosk lets users send an emergency SMS. It also double as an earthquake alarm system during earthquake emergencies.

From the ten finalists, the Final 5 will be determined on July 14 to coincide with the celebration of Social Innovation Day. Netizens may also vote online for their "My Future Makers” favorite.

These top five teams will be provided with expert mentorship from Globe, Ashoka, and Singtel Group. The Portfolio Development team of Kickstart will also facilitate access to relevant startup workshops or clinics, introductions to potential partners, mentors, advisers, and investors via Kickstart’s broad network as well as provide free Semaphore web-to-SMS API credits. Such support will allow the five teams to build their products faster and launch sooner to benefit the communities they aim to serve.

The Globe Future Makers program, aligned to the social innovation program of the Singtel Group of Companies for Asia Pacific, was developed in order to influence and build a whole ecosystem of social innovators. They, in turn, will help create a positive impact on society with the help of technology. The program also serve as a platform to enable emerging social innovators to receive coaching and mentorship from some of the best social innovators around the world.